Chapter 574: Chapter 574

The dragon’s roar, filled with pain, echoed through the sky. Within a thousand miles, every bird and beast that heard this roar trembled, not daring to move a muscle.

In the sky, the flood dragon "Chi Xiao" fled injured, its magma-like scorching dragon blood spilled down, forming countless fire spots on the earth like a meteor shower.

The flood dragon spirit blood of a Tier Six flood dragon contains their powerful origin power. Ordinary cultivators are not even qualified to collect it, and ordinary beasts cannot swallow dragon blood to gain power.

But Zhouyang is not an ordinary cultivator; he is a Golden Core Stage cultivator, a Golden Core Ancestor with a lifespan of a thousand years.

Taking advantage of "Master Chi Hua," Lu Xuanji, and Yin Hanguang chasing after the fleeing Guo Jinhong and his group, he also ventured to follow, continuously collecting the flood dragon spirit blood spilling from the Tier Six Red Fire Flood Dragon "Chi Xiao."

The Red Fire Flood Dragon, also fire-attributed, is the most compatible kind of flood dragon for him. Using this flood dragon spirit blood to cultivate the "Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique" is much better than the Ink Flood Dragon spirit blood he used before.

For Zhouyang, wasting even a drop of this Tier Six Red Fire Flood Dragon spirit blood is intolerable.

This opportunity to obtain Tier Six flood dragon spirit blood is truly once-in-a-lifetime. He must collect enough flood dragon spirit blood during this chance to reserve it; otherwise, it would be incredibly difficult to get such high-level flood dragon spirit blood in the future.

Even in a place like Liuyun Immortal City, it’s exceedingly difficult to buy Tier Six flood dragon spirit blood, and even if it can be bought, Zhouyang cannot afford the price.

He needs a large amount of flood dragon spirit blood to practice the "Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique." Relying only on buying, without millions of spirit stones, one can’t dream of obtaining enough Tier Six flood dragon spirit blood to cultivate this divine technique to the Fourth Layer.

In fact, this is the "correct" way to cultivate many powerful divine techniques.

In the Cultivation Realm, there are countless powerful divine techniques, but most of them have very demanding requirements for cultivation, and many require unique spiritual objects to assist with cultivation, otherwise, you can’t even begin.

The "Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique" is a typical example among them.

Of course, Zhouyang is not the only one coveting the Tier Six flood dragon spirit blood. Some fearless cultivators, tempted by such rare spiritual objects, also disregard the potential anger of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, and once the battling parties leave, they also try to collect the flood dragon spirit blood that spills on the battlefield.

For these cultivators competing with him for the opportunity, Zhouyang is not polite at all.

Cultivators of the Haoyang Sect at the Golden Core Stage now dare only to hide inside the mountain gate, while other Golden Core Stage cultivators in Jinyang Country, during the battle of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, also only dare to tremble in fear hiding on sect and clan spirit mountains waiting for the result.

The cultivators who dare to risk their lives on the battlefield, at most possess Purple Mansion Stage strength, how could they be Zhouyang’s opponents?

Fortunately, he retained some goodwill, not going on a killing spree, usually just making them hand over the flood dragon spirit blood they managed to obtain. Only those stubborn and unrelenting ones would he kill on the spot to serve as a warning to others.

Yet still, he couldn’t possibly attend to everyone, and some guys, whether by luck or some undetected means, managed to hide some flood dragon spirit blood.

As a result, after this battle, many cultivators needing high tier flood dragon spirit blood heard the news and came from afar to Jinyang Country, offering high prices to purchase Tier Six flood dragon spirit blood, not minding if it’s a hundred drops or just one, allowing some fortunate cultivators to make a fortune.

Zhouyang, following along the way, quickly collected more than twenty jin of Tier Six flood dragon spirit blood into his pocket.

The flood dragon "Chi Xiao" had a body length of a hundred zhang, and twenty jin of flood dragon spirit blood compared to its hundred zhang long dragon body wasn’t a particularly large amount, just like a normal person losing two to three liang of blood, somewhat uncomfortable but not a big deal.

This amount of flood dragon spirit blood was already more than enough for Zhouyang to cultivate the "Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique" to the Third Layer.

But his goal is the Fourth Layer, which requires using at least twice the amount of flood dragon spirit blood, even more.

That is to say, he still needs to collect at least forty more jin of Tier Six flood dragon spirit blood.

This put pressure on him all of a sudden.

Because as time went on, even though he was at least a thousand miles away from the battling parties ahead, he could still feel that Guo Jinhong’s side was already unable to hold on.

Originally, he wanted nothing more than the death of Guo Jinhong, which was a delightful event for him, but now, Zhouyang rather hoped this enemy could endure a bit longer to give him more time to quietly make a fortune.

Guo Jinhong indeed couldn’t hold out any longer.

He misjudged the danger of the battle, and the combined power output of the two "Half-Step True Immortals" completely exceeded his expectations.

The Land of the Far West had not seen two "Half-Step True Immortals" jointly targeting someone for a very long time, and Guo Jinhong’s previous judgment about the battle situation was all based on the past encounters he had seen between "Master Chi Hua" and "Master Tianjian," both Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul cultivators.

However, in reality, this judgment was hugely mistaken; he completely underestimated the strength of two "Half-Step True Immortals" joining forces, especially against weaker opponents.

Not to mention, there was also Yin Hanguang who, with no less cultivation than his, and in fact, even stronger, followed to deliver the final blow.

In less than two quarters of an hour just now, although the enormous flood dragon "Chi Xiao" absorbed nearly half of the enemy’s firepower, the remaining half of the firepower attacks left Guo Jinhong and Peng Yuanjing, two Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, with unbearable suffering. Both suffered severe injuries, not to mention that several invaluable Tier Six spiritual artifacts were destroyed.

Although their Haoyang Sect is not a small sect, compared to top-tier powers with long-standing heritage like the Profound Sun Immortal Sect and Great Brightness Immortal Palace, they fall short by a long shot.

A Tier Six Spiritual Artifact is an exceedingly precious treasure to them, and the slightest damage to an artifact would cause them great distress, let alone losing it altogether.

But the current situation is such that even if they are willing to discard these external possessions for a chance at survival, they can no longer hold on.

"Junior Brother Peng, you escape. Their target is me. If you leave alone, at most only Yin Hanguang will chase you. Chi Xiao and I will do our best to hold back Chi Hua Old Monster and the others!"

"Don’t argue with me. My path has ended, and I’m older than you. Even if by some miracle I escape this time, I’m less important to the sect compared to you. Moreover, this matter started because of me, so it’s only right that I stay behind!"

"If you truly care, once you escape, focus on developing the sect well. In future battles, kill more of those Great Brightness Immortal Palace dogs as revenge for me!"

On the dragon’s back, Guo Jinhong, pale-faced, fights desperately against the enemy attack while whispering to Peng Yuanjing, choosing to leave the chance of survival to him.

At this final moment, he finally realized that no matter what, he wouldn’t be able to survive today.

So he was willing to give the chance of survival to Peng Yuanjing, hoping Peng Yuanjing could live to avenge him.

In truth, this so-called revenge was merely a reason Peng Yuanjing could accept.

The three Nascent Soul cultivators surrounding him today, none of them are opponents Peng Yuanjing could handle, let alone talk of revenge!

"Alright, Senior Brother Guo, take care!"

Peng Yuanjing took a deep look at Guo Jinhong and surprisingly did not refuse. Immediately, he leaped off the dragon "Chi Xiao’s" back and began to break out.

This was not due to heartlessness but the circumstances, making this choice the best one for now.

Moreover, the trouble Guo Jinhong caused truly did not require Peng Yuanjing to sacrifice his life to save him.

The situation went even smoother than Guo Jinhong anticipated. Peng Yuanjing’s breakout was not hindered by "Master Chihua" or Lu Xuanji, nor was he pursued by Yin Hanguang.

All three targets aimed solely at Guo Jinhong.

Seeing this, Guo Jinhong wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

"I never thought my two thousand years of traversing the cultivation realm would end because of a woman!"

With a reluctant sigh, Guo Jinhong’s eyes showed a touch of determination.

His eyes suddenly turned sharp, and he shouted angrily, "Chi Xiao, our fates are intertwined. If I die, you won’t survive either. Today, whether we live or die depends on whether you dare to go all out!"

"Damn it, Guo Jinhong, I curse your mother, your ancestors, every female cultivator of your Haoyang Sect!"

The flood dragon "Chi Xiao" seemingly aware of Guo Jinhong’s intentions, trembled and screamed wildly, eyes filled with terror.

Yet Guo Jinhong ignored its curses and resolutely performed that forbidden technique.

Hundreds of miles away, Zhouyang, collecting Flood Dragon Spirit Blood, suddenly heard a beastly roar filled with suppressed pain from the battlefield. Guo Jinhong’s presence vanished, replaced by a fierce, wild energy.

With a face full of doubt, Zhouyang stopped collecting Flood Dragon Spirit Blood and quickly ascended, using the Divine Technique "Separation Fire Golden Eye" to view the battlefield.

In the battlefield, Guo Jinhong had vanished, leaving only a double-headed flood dragon with a human and dragon head.

"What kind of divine technique is this?"

With a changed expression and peculiar eyes, Zhouyang gazed at the flood dragon, especially at the human head resembling Guo Jinhong on its neck, feeling a wave of disgust.

He had seen human-beast fusion techniques before, a kind of forbidden art from the Beast Taming Sect in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.

The Golden Core Stage cultivator Zhong Chuming, whom he exterminated with the "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder" Jade Talisman, employed a similar forbidden technique to merge with his Tier Five Lower Grade Spirit Beast "Gen Mountain Turtle," utilizing the demon beast’s strength and life force for defense against overwhelming attacks.

But Zhong Chuming’s forbidden art only allowed temporary fusion with a demon beast, stimulating its power with his own magical power, which was different from Guo Jinhong and the Tier Six Flood Dragon "Chi Xiao," whose bodies and aura merged into a different kind of monster.

This directly transformed monster form of Guo Jinhong, Zhouyang questioned whether he could ever revert to human form.

However, he had to admit that this forbidden technique of Guo Jinhong did have its formidable aspects.

Because after transforming into a double-headed Flood Dragon monster, not only did the monster’s cultivation aura reach the level of a Tier Six High-Grade Demon Beast, it also combined the strengths of human cultivators and the Demon Race.

The strengths of human cultivators lie in controlling magical artifacts and practicing divine techniques, while the Demon Race excels in physical body and divine techniques.

The current double-headed Flood Dragon had a human head harboring Guo Jinhong’s Nascent Soul, manipulating his lifebound spiritual artifact and several Tier Six magical artifacts to fight, while the dragon heads continued to control the dragon body, breathing fire and lightning, releasing various lifebound divine techniques of the Red Fire Flood Dragon clan.

This approach indeed allowed it to temporarily withstand the offensive of two "Half-Step True Immortals" without collapsing at the first strike.

"This old thief is indeed ruthless!"

Zhouyang smacked his lips, also admiring Guo Jinhong’s ruthlessness.

If it was really as he guessed, that he couldn’t revert to human form after merging, even if Guo Jinhong survived this ambush, he would likely not be accepted by the Human Race or the Cultivation Realm.

Afterward, as the two sides temporarily stopped in a region to avoid being harmed by the aftermath of the battle, Zhouyang could only stop collecting the Flood Dragon Spirit Blood and withdraw far away to watch the battle.

The lesson from the last ambush on the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" was still fresh in his mind; he didn’t want Guo Jinhong to suddenly rush up to drag him down in a moment of desperation.

This time, if such a situation occurred again, there was no "Azure Heaven Beast" proficient in Space Divine Techniques to help bind the opponent.

After Guo Jinhong held on for a while longer, finally, the first Nascent Soul stage cultivator coming to assist arrived outside the battlefield.

But after this Early-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator arrived outside the battlefield, he merely observed the battlefield from a thousand miles away and was startled by the strong lineup here.

After seeing Guo Jinhong’s condition at that time, he even more so withdrew directly without saying a word, fleeing without firing a single shot!

What’s the point of rescuing him?

Zhouyang might not discern Guo Jinhong’s situation, but that Nascent Soul stage cultivator who came to assist had a far-sighted look and knew that Guo Jinhong and the merging with the Tier Six Flood Dragon was a unique forbidden technique created by a Demon Cultivator from the Land of the Far West a long time ago.

After this forbidden technique was created, even among Demonic Cultivators, few dared to use it.

Because once this secret technique was used to merge with a demon beast, not only could one not revert to human form, but later, due to the influence of a dual soul, severe backlash would occur, causing both souls to suffer torment, greatly increasing the likelihood of going insane and turning into a monster that only knew massacre and destruction.

Demonic Cultivators are merely selfish and cruel but not entirely devoid of human nature; unless absolutely necessary, they certainly wouldn’t want to become a monster focused only on killing and destruction.

Therefore, the Nascent Soul stage cultivator, upon seeing such a situation, directly chose not to rescue.

He didn’t want the person he just saved to become someone he’d have to desperately kill in the future.

After Guo Jinhong turned into such a form through forbidden technique, he no longer warranted being treated as human, nor did he hold any rescue value.

Under such circumstances, even when facing the responsibility of other Nascent Soul stage cultivators afterward, the rescuer could justifiably state his reasons for not saving him.

Soon after, another Nascent Soul stage cultivator arrived outside the battlefield, and this person’s actions were no different from the previous one; upon seeing the situation clearly, he ran away directly.

Seeing such a situation, Guo Jinhong finally fell into complete despair.

"Roar, let’s die together!"

The human head of the double-headed Flood Dragon suddenly roared with fury, a flash of red light appearing above, from which emerged a Nascent Soul five inches in height.

As soon as the five-inch Nascent Soul appeared, it pinched a spell with its tiny hands, and its figure instantly vanished from its original spot, reaching the side of Yin Hanguang in the next moment.

Having retreated a thousand miles away, Zhouyang suddenly saw a mass of red light erupt above the battlefield, stronger than the sun, and then his ears went completely deaf.

When all subsided, Zhouyang took out several Healing Spirit Talismans from his storage ring to use on his eyes. Relying on the healing from these talismans, he finally restored his vision, which had been damaged by the intense light.

Then he saw that the ground in the area where the battlefield was located had a massive crater covering several tens of thousands of acres, over ten feet deep, with the soil and rocks at the bottom turned into glass by the terrifying heat, bright enough to reflect people!

Zhouyang had seen Nascent Soul self-destruction before. In the "Dome Heaven Immortal Realm," Master Baiyang, who had a cultivation even stronger than Guo Jinhong, had exploded his Nascent Soul to blast open the most resilient skull of the True Magic Dharma Body of the "Heaven-Sundering True Demon," providing Lu Xuanji with an opportunity to refine that True Magic Dharma Body.

But the situation was different at that time. Firstly, Master Baiyang had bestowed upon him too much magical power, causing his Nascent Soul to be very weak at the time of self-destruction and completely incomparable to a normal scenario.

Secondly, the power of Master Baiyang’s Nascent Soul self-detonation at that time, half landed on the head of the True Magical Body of the "Heaven-Sundering True Demon," and half was blocked by the "Celestial Spirit Demon Suppression Array," releasing less than one-tenth of its full force.

Therefore, although he consumed a life-saving item "Yuqing Immortal Talisman" during the explosion, he never had a clear sense of the power of that Nascent Soul self-detonation.

But this time was different. The self-detonation of Guo Jinhong’s Nascent Soul took place in this desolate wilderness, with most of its strength absorbed by the surrounding heaven and earth, causing significant damage to the environment, which was utterly shocking.

The Glazed Celestial Pit was the best evidence of this!

In the future, this place will undoubtedly become a unique landscape in Jinyang Country, attracting countless cultivators to visit, allowing them to fully experience the mighty power of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators.

However, Zhouyang’s gaze did not linger long on that Glazed Celestial Pit. After marveling at the power of the Nascent Soul self-detonation, his eyes searched the battlefield for the figure of Yin Hanguang.

Guo Jinhong’s final choice to take Yin Hanguang down with him did not surprise Zhouyang. Compared to two Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul "Half-Step True Immortals," the chance of choosing Yin Hanguang as a scapegoat was definitely greater.

Nevertheless, Yin Hanguang was no ordinary person; he must have thought of this problem. Zhouyang judged that Guo Jinhong might not achieve his goal.

Sure enough, after surveying the battlefield, Zhouyang quickly spotted Yin Hanguang.

Yin Hanguang was indeed alive, not only unharmed but also showing no injuries at all.

As Zhouyang looked over, Yin Hanguang seemed to sense it, smiling and nodding at Zhouyang before continuing his task at hand.

His task was no other than dissecting the corpse of the Tier Six Flood Dragon "Chi Xiao."

The Tier Six Flood Dragon "Chi Xiao" was utterly deceived by Guo Jinhong!

It had signed a special contract of life-and-death with Guo Jinhong; if either party died prematurely without exhausting their lifespan, the soul of the other would also perish.

Previously, Guo Jinhong’s path seemed clear, and needing its Life Essence Blood for cultivation, it benefitted from the contract, extorting Guo Jinhong to periodically provide human female cultivators as playthings and food, living a prosperous life.

But today, Guo Jinhong faced deadly tribulation; due to the contract, it had to fight alongside Guo Jinhong against enemies, even after Guo Jinhong used Demonic Forbidden Technique to merge with it, it had to grudgingly agree.

However, it never imagined Guo Jinhong would abandon everything at the last moment and self-detonate his Nascent Soul!

Since Guo Jinhong knew it would never agree, he had not informed it in advance. When his Nascent Soul emerged and the Flood Dragon "Chi Xiao" discovered it, it was too late to stop it.

Thus, "Chi Xiao" met a pitiful end!

With Guo Jinhong’s Nascent Soul self-detonating into ashes, it quickly suffered contract backlash, its Demon Pill cracked, and its Demon Soul annihilated, dying miserably under the contract’s backlash. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel(ꜰ)ire.net

Even though missing the Jiao Pill and Jiao Soul greatly decreases its value, the corpse of a Tier Six Flood Dragon still holds tremendous worth, enough to incite envy among Nascent Soul Stage cultivators.

Zhouyang also envied it, so upon seeing Yin Hanguang, Lu Xuanji, and "Master Chihua" dissecting and handling the Tier Six Flood Dragon’s corpse, he boldly approached to see if he could get a share.

"Zhou Xiaoyou, when those people from the [Anti-Light Alliance] arrive later, you must step forward to testify, revealing Guo Jinhong’s crimes to the world!"

"Worry not when the time comes, rest assured in speaking up, as long as we have Elder Lu and the Palace Master here, in this Land of the Far West, no one can detain us."

Seeing Zhouyang approaching, Yin Hanguang beckoned him over, instructing him about testifying against Guo Jinhong.

This unauthorized attack actually broke their rules. Without an acceptable explanation, the "Anti-Light Alliance" would inevitably retaliate forcefully.

Thus, Zhouyang must testify against Guo Jinhong’s crimes, explaining to those Nine-Layer Nascent Soul cultivators of the "Anti-Light Alliance" that it was Guo Jinhong who first violated the rules by using the cultivation realm’s forbidden technique "Divine Control Art" to enslave their Great Brightness Immortal Palace’s genius disciples, prompting their counterattack. The sequence must be clearly established.

Of course, this is just a reason, one that the "Anti-Light Alliance" would not escalate matters to avenge Guo Jinhong.

To completely stop "Anti-Light Alliance’s" retaliation with this reason alone is impossible, and they never hoped for such an outcome.

But as long as it does not lead to full-scale war causing loss of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators on their side, it’s considered as a profit for the Great Brightness Immortal Palace.

Zhouyang clearly understood the intricacies involved. Hearing Yin Hanguang’s words, he confidently said, "Rest assured, elder, even if a knife is placed at my throat, facts are facts, and I will never submit to enemy threats!"

His mention of "enemy" immediately placed himself within the camp of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace. Yin Hanguang was very pleased to hear this.

Then, nothing more was said.

Zhouyang so eagerly anticipated Yin Hanguang would opportunely tell him: If you want anything from this Flood Dragon corpse, just take it, as a reward for testifying against Guo Jinhong.

But in reality, Yin Hanguang acted as if completely oblivious to the eager desire in Zhouyang’s eyes, not mentioning it at all.